The Stone Nation is now unprecedentedly powerful. With the entire nation’s resources mobilized to investigate the Honghu Sage, the task naturally becomes much easier. Of course, this operation is conducted under absolute secrecy—otherwise, alerting the enemy would be disastrous.
The Honghu Sage is still alive, which truly took Shi Hao by surprise.
Undoubtedly, a being revered as a sage by the various powers of the Great Barrens back in the day must be extraordinary. If he were truly devoured by his disciple, it would indeed be hard to justify.
“Master, the Boundary Gate is bustling with activity. Many people have arrived, clamoring and shouting. Some even mentioned your name. Do you want to meet them?” The Crimson Dragon arrived with the news.
In the Void God Realm, the Boundary Gate had been sealed.
Bird Grandpa and Fine Jade Grandpa, unwilling to deal with the headache, simply shut the gate, barring everyone outside and enjoying their peace.
After much deliberation, Shi Hao said, “Go there and deliver a message. Tell them that ‘Huang’ has been crippled and can no longer enter the Void God Realm. He has no way to meet old friends.”
Upon hearing this, Crimson Dragon Ge Gu opened his mouth, his expression twisting into something indescribably odd. This cheap master was blatantly lying through his teeth—clearly not the type to be trusted. Was this deception meant to set up a future trap?
“But you’re perfectly fine! Besides, if they really enter the Void God Realm, won’t they find out the truth?” Ge Gu muttered under his breath.
“Enough nonsense. Just do as I say. Aren’t they unable to enter anyway?” Shi Hao snapped.
In the end, at the Boundary Gate of the Void God Realm, the Crimson Dragon relayed the message through the stone doors, informing those from the Upper Realm that ‘Huang’ had been crippled and could no longer enter the spiritual realm.
“Impossible! How could Huang be crippled?!” Some refused to believe it, shouting in agitation.
These were the ones who held goodwill toward Shi Hao, hoping he would create a miracle and one day reappear in the world. They couldn’t accept this outcome.
“How could my brother be crippled? Screw that Immortal-Severing Curse—he should have endured it!” Cao Yusheng growled, while the Heavenly Horned Ant pounded the gate in fury.
Shi Hao’s old friends sighed in despair. Nothing could be worse than this—Shi Hao had truly met with misfortune and been crippled.
“Hahaha…” Some laughed—members of the Jin and Wang families from the Nine Heavens, as well as sect masters from the three thousand provinces, such as those from the Celestial Nation and the Netherworld.
“Laugh all you want, but watch your backs—I’ll slaughter you all!” the little Heavenly Horned Ant glared icily at them.
“Young man, don’t be impulsive. We were merely thinking of other matters,” someone said.
“Don’t act rashly,” Cao Yusheng whispered.
The envoys from the Immortal Domain were also present, accompanied by several silent, grim-faced experts—undoubtedly formidable figures.
The disappearance of the three rising stars from the Immortal Domain within the Void God Realm had displeased them. Coming from the Immortal Domain, they were unaccustomed to setbacks in this insignificant lower realm.
However, they also harbored some resentment toward the three youths for acting recklessly and leaving the envoy group to enter the Void God Realm without permission.
Still, as fellow denizens of the Immortal Domain, regardless of their mistakes, the envoys believed only they had the right to discipline them.
“Rulers of the Void God Realm, come forth for a discussion,” the envoy spoke at last, his status unquestionable.
Yet, faced with Bird Grandpa and Fine Jade Grandpa, he was powerless. The two old men ignored him entirely, exchanging glances and smirking.
“Can that guy order us around?”
“No.”
“Then tell him to scram!”
“Little Dragon, go tell them the Void God Realm isn’t a place they can waltz into. They’d better leave now!”
The Crimson Dragon was speechless. Aside from the awkward nickname—”Little Dragon”—the two old men’s approach was downright crude, even less refined than his cheap master’s.
“Just say it outright?” Ge Gu asked.
“Exactly. Just like that.”
Steeling himself, the Crimson Dragon approached the Boundary Gate, knocking on it. “Stop the noise. The rulers—er, the masters of the Void God Realm—order you all to scram. Don’t loiter here!”
The crowd outside: “…”
Since when was the Void God Realm so brazen? Telling everyone, including the Immortal Domain envoys, to get lost? They were dumbfounded, struggling to believe it.
“Audacious! Do you know who you’re speaking to? The Immortal Domain reigns supreme across all realms—how dare you defy us?!” someone roared.
The envoy’s gaze turned frosty. This blatant dismissal was unprecedented since their arrival in the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths.
“Elders, how should I curse them now?” The Crimson Dragon sought advice, skipping straight to the profanity.
“A promising disciple indeed!” Bird Grandpa praised.
“Promising?” Ge Gu grumbled inwardly. Dealing with these two old eccentrics required abandoning normal logic—was there even a point in reasoning when cursing was the default?
“Go tell that old fool to return to the Immortal Domain and seek guidance before causing trouble for himself,” Fine Jade Grandpa said calmly.
Obediently, Ge Gu strode over and delivered a scathing rebuke, leaving the outsiders bewildered.
“The old men said: ‘Scram back to the Immortal Domain and consult your superiors about this place. One more word, and we’ll crush you all!'”
Hearing this, Bird Grandpa and Fine Jade Grandpa sucked their teeth, realizing the kid was no pushover.
“Did Shi Hao corrupt him?”
“The True Dragon lineage was never kind. They rose atop mountains of corpses—a ruthless bunch.”
The two old men proceeded to badmouth the Crimson Dragon’s lineage.
Ge Gu gritted his teeth but could do nothing.
Outside, chaos erupted. The Immortal Domain envoys were livid, pounding the gate furiously.
Even the envoy himself froze momentarily, recalling an ancient fossil’s warning: some places in the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths were forbidden. Could this be one of them?
“I just want to know… has Shi Hao truly become a mortal?” A woman’s melancholic voice drifted in.
“Who are you? Yue Chan, Qing Yi, the Witch, Yao Yue, or Wang Xi?” Ge Gu’s gossipy heart burned with curiosity.
Having stayed in Stone Village, he’d overheard Shi Hao briefly mention these names to the villagers.
Outside the gate, several women remained expressionless, though their piercing gazes seemed ready to blast the gate open.
“Is Huang truly not crippled?” another voice demanded.
“Watch your tone! Even if my master has lost his cultivation, it’s not your place to gloat,” the Crimson Dragon retorted.
“He isn’t crippled!” someone else insisted.
“Ridiculous! Still hoping for a miracle? Our Immortal Palace’s Supreme dares to swear on his honor—Huang will never set foot in the cultivation world again!” a member of the Immortal Palace declared.
For days, the Boundary Gate remained in turmoil as the crowd refused to leave.
Amid the uproar, Shi Hao set out, personally tracking the Honghu Sage’s whereabouts using secret arts to trace his origins.
Finally, he made a breakthrough discovery: the Honghu Sage was alive, practicing an esoteric technique in the Hong Territory.
“Let’s go see what this Mountain Treasure really is!” Shi Hao prepared to depart with the Zhu Yan.
But that day, the Crimson Dragon returned with news.
“Bird Grandpa and Fine Jade Grandpa couldn’t take the harassment anymore. They opened the Boundary Gate and let everyone in.”
Shi Hao was stunned. These two old men were causing trouble for him. He hadn’t planned to face those people yet, preferring to lay low in the lower realm and avoid unwanted attention.
This was his period of hibernation—until he reached a certain level of strength, he had no intention of reemerging.
“If those people enter the Void God Realm, it’ll be chaos. I need to see what those two old rascals are up to!” Shi Hao said.
“They aren’t causing trouble. They’re trapped in a misty zone. Even the two old men are struggling—apparently, they can’t fully control that area,” the Crimson Dragon explained.
Shi Hao was dumbfounded, once again witnessing the unreliability of the two elders.
“Why would they do this?” Shi Hao grumbled.
“They disliked those people and wanted you to deal with them. The elders said that zone is a rare training ground for you, a chance to break through to the Supreme Realm.”
Shi Hao paused, then without another word, headed straight for the Void God Realm.
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